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1,800 new Canadians poised to lose citizenship: Kenney$ D$ J) P' X! k: V4 L
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Richard J. Brennan
, q6 v. z1 M+ k2 }+ ^National Affairs Writer + b( v! w5 m% l! [/ p& G
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Immigration Minister Jason Kenney confirmed Wednesday that as many as 1,800 new Canadians could be stripped of their citizenship because they were obtained fraudulently.# K5 d: a: P6 \4 \+ y' z% }( A8 m) M
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“We are in the process of notifying them that we will be revoking their citizenship because Canadian citizenship is not for sale,” Kenney told the Economic Club of Canada.
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Kenney said some of the individuals are believed to have used “unscrupulous” immigration consultants who submitted fraudulent applications on behalf of people who did not meet the qualifications for citizenship.
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The 1,800 were identified following a three-year investigation by the RCMP, other police forces and Citizenship and Immigration Canada.
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& Z( } H( H7 `& U. `5 a“By the way, we are not done with our investigation” Kenney said, noting that many of the accused live outside the country./ b) i2 l) I w q- P6 L( t+ X# y
5 H( X+ }4 S+ t3 J( U$ cThey can challenge the decision in Federal Court. If not, Cabinet will move to revoke their citizenship., n, ^! L9 B/ O' D D& M2 T' y
" O, m) J. Z+ K% J: HCitizenship revocation is relatively uncommon in Canada with only 63 people being stripped of their citizenship since 1977, Kenney said.
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, m, T- a* I, V/ L3 a. z4 w j6 {Most were for reasons related to residence fraud, criminality and false identity, or concealing their involvement in war crimes.1 F' }$ p9 i8 ?+ R
7 A8 @' J2 j: u, `: h4 Z+ ?Speaking in Vancouver on Tuesday, Kenney said Ottawa is trying to discourage immigration fraud.
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“For those who simply touch down and try to get a Canadian passport as a … passport of convenience, who don’t pay our taxes but who do consume our social benefits, I think that’s dishonourable,” he told reporters after delivering a speech to the Vancouver Board of Trade.$ p6 i o. { m- Z
9 E6 c6 p; H4 z) n: M- X7 t5 B$ }“There are many ways that we are combating immigration fraud and abuse of our generosity, whether it is from [bogus] asylum claimants, crooked immigration consultants, people smugglers [or] people who are abusing our citizenship program,” he said.
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Kenney also announced that Canada will soon be introducing multi-year visas for low-risk visitors from around the world that will last 10 years. |
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